


Incredibly Close and Uncomfortably Far

by communikate



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Platonic Cuddling, just a touch of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-21 23:04:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13153899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/communikate/pseuds/communikate
Summary: Not one for casual touch or physical comfort, Keith soon learns the benefit of cuddles.





	Incredibly Close and Uncomfortably Far

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> My gift for Akiko Natsuko for the Heith Secret Santa!! I hope you enjoy it! <3
> 
> Also, shout out to my wonderful beta [Malevelynce](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malevelynce/pseuds/Malevelynce)!!! Please go check out her wonderful Heith fics!!

Keith chewed on the jagged end of his nail, looking up from the tablet Allura had given them weeks ago when they boarded the ship. She had claimed it was for their education to learn more about Altea, the other planets, and the atrocities of the Galra. What she didn’t account for was Pidge coding old fashion games like pong and snake or intelligence-based games like sudoku, solitaire, and minesweeper into each of their tablets, so it wasn’t just for education anymore - especially for Keith. Keith hadn’t read a single article, but he did have the second shortest sudoku time of the whole group.

He currently had his tablet propped up on his knee, wobbling with each tap of the screen.

It was these moments he appreciated: the quiet hum of the ship, the cool breeze of the central air, and the break from training. The appreciation of relaxation and the precious calm moments in the midst of war.

The living room had quieted when Lance had finally fallen asleep against Hunk, neck craned to rest his head on Hunk’s shoulder. The blue paladin’s tablet laid halfway off the couch, only held from falling by his limp hand. Hunk seemed undisturbed by the way Lance draped his body across him, which was good since there was rarely a time when Lance wasn’t leaning on him, hanging off him, placing his arms on Hunk’s shoulders, even during meetings or movie nights. They were always a tangle of limbs.

Their closeness was almost uncomfortable to watch. Instinctive touch was something Keith had never longed for even with Shiro. Keith never had the inclination to drape himself along Shiro’s finely-tuned body or rest his head on his shoulder. Glancing blows, scattered hugs, or the casual high five or shoulder bump were all more familiar to Keith, a more blunt touch. And Shiro’s presence alone was enough to cool his fiery temper or pull him from brief lulls of depression or social anxiety, comforting and ever constant.

Draping himself across someone simply wasn’t the way Keith sought comfort.

“Don’t you get tired of Lance laying on you all the time?” Keith asked, a mumbled whisper in an attempt to savor the quiet of the moment.

Hunk looked up from his tablet, surprise flashing across his features before a bright smile captured his tanned skin. “No, not really.” Hunk looked down at Lance, his weight forcing Hunk to use his non-dominant hand to operate the tablet. His smile was fond as he continued, “Lance has always had a touchy feely family, so he kind of freaked out when he got to the Garrison with all of their strictness and rules.”

Keith could remember the distance between himself that the students, the berth they would give him in the halls - whether that was from having Shiro constantly at his side or the disgruntled look he wore for the majority of his attendance, he didn’t know.

“So I really don’t mind.” Hunk met Keith’s gaze, something glinting and making Keith’s stomach ignite with tingling sparks before he looked down at his tablet, fingers drawing absently along the screen. “It’s actually really comforting to have someone there like that.”

“I guess,” Keith breathed, still trying to understand the strange embarrassment that rolled around in his stomach or understand how it would feel to act on his fragile instinct to reach out to people.

The silence between them was stagnant and cloying, driving Keith into another game of sudoku and eventually becoming so engrossed that he lost all sense of tension.

“Keith,” Hunk mumbled, and Keith hummed in response, not looking up from his tablet, “If you ever need, you know physical comfort -- wait, not like that -” Hunk groaned, “- You know, what I mean, right? Like if you wanted to just sit or something.” Keith looked up, seeing Hunk’s large hands wrap around the edges of his tablet and the deeper tan to his cheeks and the tips of his ears, vibrant against the hue of his orange headband. Hunk chewed on his lip and the last words seemed to slip into the air louder than he had meant them, “I would be okay with that.”

Keith’s lips parted as he sought to decipher the invitation Hunk had given him.

Lance groaned, stretching his arms and pulling himself from Hunk. He rubbed hands down his face and looked between them with lidded eyes and lips smacking with a yawn. “Is it lunch yet?” Lance grumbled, and their fragile silence was broken, swept away in Lance’s exaggerated movements and boisterous personality.

And Keith couldn’t stop the tingle in his stomach or the way his heart seemed to hunger.

* * * *

Keith couldn’t help but trace the way Lance slung his lithe limbs over Hunk’s broad shoulders or muscular legs or twinned himself in Hunk’s defined arms or sprawled over the expanse of Hunk’s chest. He had caught Hunk’s gaze too many times, received small, inviting smiles before Keith would turn away, well aware of the heat surging up his cheeks.

It wasn’t that he didn’t desire the kind of comfort Hunk had explained. Even during one of their movie nights, Keith had placed his head on Shiro’s shoulder to see if it was everything Hunk had explained, to finally act on that fragile desire for physical closeness. Shiro had immediately stiffened at his touch but hadn’t moved out of the way, slowly relaxing and sinking down a little so Keith’s neck wasn't craning. But it was almost too embarrassing for him to stay there, making this “comforting” experience one of tension and discomfort.

He sat up, crossed his arms, and didn’t try to cuddle with Shiro again. And thankfully Shiro hadn’t said anything, just raised a single eyebrow after the movie was over - to which Keith blushed and stuttered something along the lines of, “Don’t say anything, Shiro. Ever.”

* * * *

Keith regretted it. Regretted not leaning on Shiro’s shoulder more or talking to him, embracing him in the moments they had together after the long year apart. Because now that he was gone, vanished in the aftermath of the battle, only the black bayard as a sign he’d even been there, that he had even piloted the black lion and this whole experience wasn't some fevered dream of Keith’s. He wanted nothing more than to experience that discomfort with him, latch himself to Shiro’s side, pinning him to the castle and tethering Shiro to himself.

But Shiro had left. Again.

Standing in front of the black lion was the first time he’d ever appreciated Lance’s talkativeness, comforting Keith in a way he didn’t know he needed, the soft support and the gentle touch of his shoulder.

But now, Keith wanted to do anything but talk - Lance being almost too supportive, unable to just sit and allow the sensation of loss to settle like silt at the bottom of his tear ducts. Always talking, loud and energetic, like his forced enthusiasm could make Keith smile with playful jokes and worn puns.

So when Keith saw that only Hunk was sitting in the living room, a strange relief washed over him, because Keith couldn’t isolate himself in the training room anymore. His muscles were screaming so loudly, pained and heated, that Keith had to grind his teeth to merely walk through the castle. And if he wasn’t training - facing the gleaming eyes of the gladiator and battling the tired instincts of his muscles - he was thinking of Shiro.

And he couldn't think of Shiro alone anymore, the spiraling thoughts driving him into insanity and a whirlwind of grief.

Hunk glanced up from his tablet, eyes puffy with dark circles pulling at his bottom lashes, accenting the fluctuations of brown in his irises. He nodded, turning his gaze back to the Altean article he was reading - a distraction, they were all distracting themselves nowadays.

Keith appreciated the space Hunk granted him, seeming to know that if Keith needed something he would seek Hunk out. Rather than Lance’s tactic that was to chase him down with water and food goo in the training room and sniff him at dinner and comment about his lack of showering with laughter and a hopeful smile that glinted with the effort he was exerting.

With aching muscles, Keith plodded to the couch and sunk into the cushion next to Hunk, not close enough to touch or even to brush shoulders, but enough that Keith could enjoy the comfort of his company. There was a way that Hunk presented himself, intimidating and precocious against enemies but protecting and nosy and impatient and comforting for his friends and family. Keith didn’t even pull out his tablet, just crossed his arms, tucking his knees up against his chest and closing his eyes.

His head began to bob with sleep, eyes lidded and muscles and mind begging for rest.

“You can use my shoulder as a pillow, Keith,” Hunk whispered, suggesting with a tone that Keith couldn’t quite place.

Sparks ignited in his stomach, almost completely rousing him. But he let himself lean against Hunk, seeking comfort from the warmth of his skin and tenderness of his toned muscles. He basked in the heat and fell asleep faster than he had since Shiro’s disappearance from the black lion. His mind occupied with thoughts of Hunk and the shifting of his shoulder with his steady breaths, rather than the Black Paladin and the ache he’d carved in Keith’s chest.

He woke to a small stifled squawk.

Keith groaned, throwing an arm over his face and nestling into the warmth pressed to his cheek.

“Nice going, Lance,” Pidge hissed.

There was more muffled speech and a grumble of laughter echoing from under his ear. Keith squinted, eyes catching flashes of green and blue before he tilted his head back and saw Hunk’s smiling face.

“Good morning.” Hunk’s deep chuckle shook Keith’s bangs into his eyes. He sat up, head reeling with the sudden movement. Rubbing his palm into his eye, he looked over Hunk’s blushing cheeks and calming smile.

Keith didn’t have time to think about how he’d nestled against Hunk like it was natural, like he craved this kind of touch. How he’d practically crawled into Hunk’s lap for his first bout of dreamless sleep since Shiro’s disappearance.

Pidge plopped into the seat next to him, pulling up her phone and showing the cute picture of Keith nestled against Hunk with a small snicker. His bangs were scattered across his forehead, hands grasping the fabric of Hunk’s shirt, stretching it with blunt fingertips. Hunk was still gazing at his tablet, one hand resting inches away from Keith’s curled legs.

Keith blushed and pushed Pidge’s hands back into her lap.

“So,” Lance began, a small smile on his face, “You’ve finally realized that Hunk’s a top-tier cuddle buddy, huh?” Lance shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, rocking back on his heels and raising a single eyebrow.

Keith ran a hand through his hair, fiddling for an answer.

“At least he didn’t drool on me,” Hunk commented, swiping on the tablet to the next article. Keith was grateful for Hunk’s interference, enjoying the playful smile that crept up Hunk’s cheeks.

“That was one time!” Lance guffawed. Pidge laughed, flipping through her phone; Hunk chuckled under his breath, and Keith couldn’t help but to join in.

It was the most peace he’d had since Shiro’s disappearance, enjoying the warmth radiating from the echoes of Hunk’s touch. His heart hungered for more, longing for the intimacy of touch and the distraction of Hunk’s presence. And Hunk didn't seem to mind providing what Keith needed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> Comments and kudos mean the world to me, and I would love to hear from you and what you thought!
> 
> You can also come scream at me on my [tumblr](https://voltronhastakenovermylife.tumblr.com) or give me writing prompts!!
> 
> Thanks so much <3


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